3 Disturbing TRUE College Horror Stories — Transcript

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1. 0:16This happened about 15 years ago when I
2. 0:18was in college and living in a duplex
3. 0:20with three of my friends.
4. 0:22The duplex was a large single-family
5. 0:24house that was [music] divided into an
6. 0:25upstairs apartment and a downstairs
7. 0:27apartment with a finished basement.
8. 0:29My friends and I lived in the downstairs
9. 0:31portion and our upstairs neighbor was a
10. 0:33single man in his late 30s or early 40s
11. 0:35who was quiet but nice.
12. 0:38He was a little awkward but in hindsight
13. 0:40I would probably have been awkward in
14. 0:42his position, too.
15. 0:43It must have been a bit strange to live
16. 0:45above four college-aged women.
17. 0:48We weren't partiers or anything like
18. 0:50that but we did sometimes [music] bring
19. 0:51guys home or have loud friends over and
20. 0:54I'm sure there were a few times he
21. 0:55overheard things that would have made me
22. 0:57uncomfortable or irritated in his
23. 0:59position.
24. 1:00That being said, we all knew his name
25. 1:02and we were comfortable enough to talk
26. 1:04to him about things [music] like trash
27. 1:05collection and yard maintenance and
28. 1:07other mundane house-related things.
29. 1:10Our house was on a really quiet block in
30. 1:11a neighborhood with a lot of families,
31. 1:13meaning that everybody was pretty much
32. 1:15home and in bed by 9:00 p.m. except for
33. 1:17us.
34. 1:18My college was in a medium-sized
35. 1:20Midwestern city but it was a running
36. 1:22joke among students that the whole city
37. 1:24shut down after work hours.
38. 1:26I was used to living in a bigger city
39. 1:28and so this level of quiet was a little
40. 1:31eerie to me.
41. 1:32I think the thing that bothered me more
42. 1:33than the quiet was the fact that the
43. 1:35streetlights in our neighborhood were
44. 1:36designed to look like quaint old
45. 1:38lanterns
46. 1:39and they really didn't illuminate much
47. 1:41at all.
48. 1:42It was cute to look at from inside your
49. 1:44house but [music] definitely didn't make
50. 1:45me feel comfortable walking home at
51. 1:47night if I was alone.
52. 1:49I wasn't used to the dark or quiet and
53. 1:51the idea that there was nobody around to
54. 1:53help me in case something bad happened
55. 1:54always made me have my guard up a bit.
56. 1:57One night, [music] I was coming home
57. 1:58late from a date with my boyfriend at
58. 2:00the time.
59. 2:01We had made dinner and watched movies at
60. 2:03his house, and I hadn't intended to stay
61. 2:05out too late because I had class the
62. 2:06next morning.
63. 2:07But, I had lost track of time and pulled
64. 2:10up in front of my house much later than
65. 2:11I had planned, about 2:00 a.m.
66. 2:14This was on a weeknight, and like I
67. 2:16said, our block was dead quiet at this
68. 2:18time of night anyway, and so I hadn't
69. 2:20expected to see anybody outside.
70. 2:22However, when I pulled up to my house, I
71. 2:25could see the shape of a man sitting on
72. 2:26our front porch.
73. 2:28It was hard to see [music] him in the
74. 2:29dim streetlights, and I just assumed it
75. 2:31was our upstairs neighbor sitting
76. 2:33outside having a cigarette or something.
77. 2:35I took my keys out of the ignition,
78. 2:37grabbed my bag from the passenger seat,
79. 2:39and opened my door to get out of my car.
80. 2:41When I did this, I noticed movement out
81. 2:43of the corner of my eye.
82. 2:45I looked up and noticed that my neighbor
83. 2:47had gotten up and was shuffling down the
84. 2:49steps of our duplex.
85. 2:51It looked like he was drunk or hurt or
86. 2:53something.
87. 2:54He wasn't moving right, and he seemed
88. 2:56unsteady on his feet.
89. 2:58That struck me as odd, but I wasn't
90. 2:59trying to judge him or make him feel
91. 3:01uncomfortable,
92. 3:02so I closed my car door and started to
93. 3:04walk to my house.
94. 3:06I figured I would just use the side door
95. 3:07in the house so I didn't have to pass by
96. 3:09him too closely.
97. 3:11I took a step toward the house and
98. 3:12froze.
99. 3:14That man was not my neighbor.
100. 3:16I felt an immediate sense of anxiety.
101. 3:19I was completely alone with this
102. 3:20strange, potentially drunk man who was
103. 3:22now lurching toward me and my car.
104. 3:25I took a breath and tried to think
105. 3:26through how to respond.
106. 3:28I had a bad habit of downplaying my gut
107. 3:30feelings and immediately tried to
108. 3:32rationalize what was going on.
109. 3:34Maybe this guy was visiting my neighbor.
110. 3:37Maybe he was just a harmless drunk guy
111. 3:38who was looking for a place to sit.
112. 3:41But as these thoughts ran through my
113. 3:42mind, I couldn't ignore the fact that he
114. 3:44was walking directly toward me,
115. 3:46and the initial tinge of worry I felt
116. 3:48was growing into genuine fear.
117. 3:51He was still getting closer, and I could
118. 3:52see him a bit better now.
119. 3:54He was an older man with messy gray hair
120. 3:56and a grizzled beard.
121. 3:58His eyes were downcast, but he had a
122. 4:00sickening smile,
123. 4:02almost a grimace on his face that made
124. 4:03my heart skip a beat.
125. 4:06He was about 20 ft away from me now.
126. 4:08I don't know why, but I called out hey
127. 4:10to him. And this caused him to pause for
128. 4:12a second.
129. 4:13I used that time to unlock my car door,
130. 4:15get back in, and lock the doors.
131. 4:18Thank God I did.
132. 4:19Literally the second my doors locked, I
133. 4:21saw the man's body at the passenger side
134. 4:23window.
135. 4:24I heard a thudding sound and realized
136. 4:26that he was trying to open the side
137. 4:27door.
138. 4:28He tried the handle a few times as I
139. 4:30stared at him in shock. Then he got
140. 4:32angry.
141. 4:33He started pounding on the window and
142. 4:35yelling in a gravelly voice, "Open up."
143. 4:38I was honestly shocked, but something in
144. 4:40me took over and I turned my car back on
145. 4:42and floored it out of there.
146. 4:44I think he was still holding onto the
147. 4:46handle when I pulled away, but I wasn't
148. 4:47brave enough to look back.
149. 4:50I drove a few blocks away before pulling
150. 4:51my car over.
151. 4:53I was shaking with adrenaline and tried
152. 4:55to take some deep breaths to calm myself
153. 4:57down and to think about what to do next.
154. 4:59I dug through my purse for my phone.
155. 5:02I needed to let my roommates know this
156. 5:03guy was outside the house, and I also
157. 5:05contemplated calling the police to see
158. 5:06if they would be willing to walk me back
159. 5:08to my house if the guy was still there.
160. 5:10Unfortunately, my phone was dead.
161. 5:13I cursed at myself for forgetting to
162. 5:15charge it once again.
163. 5:16I felt so stupid.
164. 5:18Now I had no way to alert my friends and
165. 5:20no way to call anybody to let them know
166. 5:22this was going on.
167. 5:24I felt truly alone and had no idea what
168. 5:26to do next.
169. 5:28Literally nothing near me was open, not
170. 5:30even a gas station, and I couldn't think
171. 5:32about anybody who would be awake right
172. 5:33now if I were to show up at their house.
173. 5:36I drove around the block a bit, hoping
174. 5:37maybe he was just a confused drunk guy
175. 5:40and he would wander off by the time I
176. 5:41got back.
177. 5:42After about 15 minutes of driving in
178. 5:44circles, I cautiously pulled back up to
179. 5:46my house.
180. 5:48I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw
181. 5:50the man was gone.
182. 5:51It's funny how quickly I started to
183. 5:53downplay the fear I felt not even 30
184. 5:55minutes ago when he was trying to get
185. 5:56into my car.
186. 5:58But as I put my car in park, I started
187. 6:00to think about how he must have been
188. 6:01harmless and that I overreacted by being
189. 6:04so scared.
190. 6:05I gathered my things and got ready to
191. 6:07head back into my house.
192. 6:09Once I left the comfort of my car, I
193. 6:11felt on edge again.
194. 6:13The street was still dark and quiet, and
195. 6:15the darkness felt more sinister when it
196. 6:17was mixed with the fear I was still
197. 6:18feeling.
198. 6:20I made a fist and put my keys between my
199. 6:22fingers like I'd been taught to do as a
200. 6:24way of protecting myself.
201. 6:26I squared my shoulders, took a deep
202. 6:27breath, and started walking to my front
203. 6:29steps.
204. 6:31As soon as I got on the sidewalk, I
205. 6:33heard staggering footsteps [music] from
206. 6:34my right.
207. 6:35My heart sank.
208. 6:37It was him.
209. 6:38He was waiting for me, and now he was
210. 6:40running at me.
211. 6:42He had an uneven gait and wasn't fast,
212. 6:44but seeing him running at me was
213. 6:46honestly the most terrifying sight I'd
214. 6:47ever seen.
215. 6:49I sprinted to my house and practically
216. 6:50jumped up the stairs to my porch.
217. 6:53I put my key in the door and turned the
218. 6:54lock.
219. 6:56But before I could open the door,
220. 6:57I felt him grab my purse and start to
221. 6:59pull me backward.
222. 7:01Without thinking, I kicked my leg back
223. 7:03and connected with something hard.
224. 7:05He groaned in pain, but didn't let go.
225. 7:08I was still trying to open the door, but
226. 7:10now he was flailing at me and grabbing
227. 7:12for me.
228. 7:13He grabbed a hold of my arm, and I could
229. 7:14still remember looking down and seeing
230. 7:16his large hand with mottled skin
231. 7:18grabbing onto my elbow and trying to
232. 7:20pull me back.
233. 7:22By some miracle, I had managed to open
234. 7:24the door even as he was pulling at me.
235. 7:26And I pushed it open and screamed help
236. 7:28as loud as I could.
237. 7:29It felt like I was standing in the
238. 7:31doorway forever, but it must have only
239. 7:32been a few seconds.
240. 7:34My roommate opened the door to our unit
241. 7:36just as my upstairs neighbor opened his
242. 7:38and started to run down the stairs.
243. 7:40I felt the man let go of me, and I ran
244. 7:42inside and closed the door behind me.
245. 7:45My neighbor pushed past me and went to
246. 7:46run after the man as my roommate
247. 7:48embraced me and pulled me into our
248. 7:49apartment.
249. 7:51I immediately started crying and
250. 7:52hyperventilating as I tried to tell them
251. 7:54what happened.
252. 7:56In between thanking my roommate and
253. 7:57trying to tell them about the man who
254. 7:58had grabbed me, my other roommates came
255. 8:01out of their rooms and started to give
256. 8:02me advice and calm me down.
257. 8:04I eventually got a hold of myself enough
258. 8:06to call the police, and while they came
259. 8:08quickly, they didn't really seem to take
260. 8:10my story seriously.
261. 8:12They asked if I knew the man who grabbed
262. 8:13me or where he had gone, and I felt
263. 8:16increasingly hopeless as I realized the
264. 8:18only details I really remembered were
265. 8:20his hair and beard and approximate age.
266. 8:23My neighbor knocked on the door to ask
267. 8:24if I was okay,
268. 8:26and told the police that the man had run
269. 8:27down the street and then turned the
270. 8:29corner and gotten into a vehicle and
271. 8:30driven off.
272. 8:32Learning that detail made me even more
273. 8:34scared because it felt like I was
274. 8:35seconds away from being dragged into
275. 8:37that car, and then who knows what awful
276. 8:39things would have happened to me.
277. 8:41The police promised to look into it, but
278. 8:43I never heard anything about them
279. 8:44catching him or identifying him.
280. 8:46I still live in the same city, and I
281. 8:48think about that night a lot.
282. 8:50I'm so grateful to my neighbor and
283. 8:52roommates for helping me, and I feel so
284. 8:54lucky that they heard me yelling and
285. 8:55came to help me so quickly.
286. 8:58I learned to never discount my gut
287. 8:59feelings.
288. 9:00I still deal with worry and anxiety, but
289. 9:02I learned that night that true fear is
290. 9:04not something that you should ever
291. 9:05ignore.
292. 9:16During my junior year of college, I had
293. 9:18two afternoon classes, an evening lab,
294. 9:20and a microbiology exam the following
295. 9:22morning.
296. 9:23By the time I got to the library that
297. 9:25night, I was running on 4 hours of sleep
298. 9:27and a sandwich I'd eaten standing
299. 9:29outside the science building.
300. 9:31I found a desk [music] on the fourth
301. 9:32floor where they kept old journals and
302. 9:34government publications.
303. 9:36Hardly anyone studied up there, which
304. 9:38was why I liked it.
305. 9:40The desks had tall wooden dividers, and
306. 9:42from mine, I couldn't see another person
307. 9:44unless I leaned into the aisle.
308. 9:46I remember opening my notes around 9:00.
309. 9:49The next thing I remember was someone
310. 9:50tapping the divider beside my head.
311. 9:53A man was standing at the end of the
312. 9:54desk.
313. 9:55He was like 40, wearing a gray polo and
314. 9:57a badge clipped to his belt.
315. 9:59He apologized for waking me and told me
316. 10:01I had to leave because the library was
317. 10:03closing.
318. 10:04I sat up so quickly that my neck hurt.
319. 10:07My laptop had gone dark, and there was a
320. 10:09damp spot on my sleeve where I'd been
321. 10:10sleeping against it.
322. 10:12I asked what time it was, and he told me
323. 10:14it was almost midnight.
324. 10:16The library closed at midnight during
325. 10:18the week.
326. 10:19I apologized and started stuffing my
327. 10:21things into my backpack.
328. 10:23He stayed there while I packed, which
329. 10:24embarrassed me [music] enough that I
330. 10:26hurried and dropped a handful of index
331. 10:28cards.
332. 10:29He crouched down to help, handing them
333. 10:30back to me without looking at them.
334. 10:33He asked if I'd had a long day, and I
335. 10:35said I had an exam in the morning.
336. 10:37He joked that I wasn't going to learn
337. 10:38much by sleeping through my studying.
338. 10:41Then he smiled, and I laughed because I
339. 10:43assumed I was supposed to.
340. 10:45When I stood up, he pointed toward the
341. 10:47back of the floor.
342. 10:48He offered to take me out through the
343. 10:49employee entrance, explaining that they
344. 10:51were closing the front.
345. 10:53I followed him between the shelves.
346. 10:55I'd been in that library dozens of
347. 10:57times, but never beyond the public
348. 10:59stairwell at the end.
349. 11:01He opened a plain metal door marked
350. 11:02staff only and held it for me.
351. 11:05Nothing about that seemed especially
352. 11:06strange.
353. 11:08He'd apparently been checking the floor
354. 11:09for students, and I could still see the
355. 11:11badge on his belt, although his shirt
356. 11:12covered most of it.
357. 11:14Inside was a narrow stairwell with
358. 11:16concrete steps and yellow painted
359. 11:18railings.
360. 11:19He started walking down, and I followed.
361. 11:22The heavy door shut behind us.
362. 11:24We passed the third floor landing, then
363. 11:26the second.
364. 11:27He asked where I lived, and I told him
365. 11:29the name of my residence hall, mostly
366. 11:31because I was still groggy and answering
367. 11:33automatically.
368. 11:35He commented that it was a long walk and
369. 11:37asked whether I had somebody waiting up
370. 11:38for me.
371. 11:40Something about that question made me
372. 11:41pay more attention.
373. 11:43I told him my roommate was waiting.
374. 11:45My roommate was actually visiting her
375. 11:47boyfriend, but I didn't like telling a
376. 11:49stranger I'd be alone.
377. 11:51We reached the ground floor.
378. 11:53There was a door with a narrow window,
379. 11:55and through it I could see the
380. 11:56circulation desk.
381. 11:58Two women were standing behind it. One
382. 12:00was putting on a coat.
383. 12:02I stepped toward the door, but the man
384. 12:04kept going down.
385. 12:05He told me to follow him.
386. 12:07I asked whether I could just go out
387. 12:09through the door in front of us.
388. 12:11He said they'd already set the alarm on
389. 12:12it and that employees use the loading
390. 12:14entrance.
391. 12:15He said it without hesitation.
392. 12:18I followed him another few steps before
393. 12:19stopping.
394. 12:21Below us, the stairwell continued to a
395. 12:23basement landing.
396. 12:24A cart stacked with flattened boxes sat
397. 12:27against the wall.
398. 12:28There wasn't anything visibly wrong down
399. 12:30there,
400. 12:31but I suddenly didn't want to go any
401. 12:32further.
402. 12:34I told him I was going to ask the women
403. 12:35to let me out through the front.
404. 12:37He looked back up at me.
405. 12:39For a second, neither of us moved.
406. 12:42Then he shrugged and told me to go
407. 12:43ahead.
408. 12:44That relaxed me just a little bit.
409. 12:46I turned, climbed back to the ground
410. 12:48floor, and pushed the door.
411. 12:50It didn't open.
412. 12:52There was a rectangular access reader
413. 12:53beside it with a small red light.
414. 12:56I tried the handle again, and then he
415. 12:58explained that I needed a card.
416. 13:00He was coming back up.
417. 13:02I asked him to open it for me, but he
418. 13:04said his card didn't work on that door
419. 13:05after hours.
420. 13:07I looked through the window. [music]
421. 13:09The two women were still there, maybe 30
422. 13:11ft away, but a row of printers blocked
423. 13:13part of the view.
424. 13:15I knocked against the glass.
425. 13:17He told me they wouldn't [music] hear
426. 13:18it.
427. 13:19He was standing on the step below mine
428. 13:21now.
429. 13:22I knocked harder.
430. 13:24One of the women bent to pick something
431. 13:25up behind the desk. He urged me to come
432. 13:28with him, saying he needed to lock up.
433. 13:30I asked him to call them.
434. 13:32He didn't answer, but instead, he
435. 13:34reached past me and put his hand on the
436. 13:36door handle, giving it a quick push as
437. 13:38if demonstrating that it was locked.
438. 13:40His body was close enough that I had to
439. 13:42move sideways.
440. 13:44I remember noticing now that his badge
441. 13:46wasn't a library ID.
442. 13:48It was a plastic card with a blue stripe
443. 13:50and a photograph
444. 13:51hanging backward from the clip.
445. 13:53It could have belonged to any workplace.
446. 13:56I asked him his name.
447. 13:58He looked directly at me and asked why I
448. 14:00wanted to know.
449. 14:01I hit the window with the heel of my
450. 14:03hand.
451. 14:04The woman in the coat finally looked up.
452. 14:06I waved at her, and she started walking
453. 14:08toward us.
454. 14:10That's when the man immediately stepped
455. 14:11away from me.
456. 14:12He looked spooked.
457. 14:14He went down the stairs quickly without
458. 14:15saying anything.
459. 14:17That was the moment I became completely
460. 14:19frightened and confident that I made the
461. 14:20right call.
462. 14:22Until then, I'd been worried about
463. 14:23offending someone who was doing his job.
464. 14:26She opened it with her card, and I
465. 14:27stumbled into the library.
466. 14:29I told her there was a man in the
467. 14:30stairwell who had claimed to work there.
468. 14:33She looked through the doorway, then
469. 14:34pulled it closed.
470. 14:36Her expression changed before she said
471. 14:37anything.
472. 14:39She asked for her co-worker to call
473. 14:40campus security.
474. 14:42I stayed behind the circulation desk
475. 14:43while they searched.
476. 14:45One of the women told me the staff
477. 14:47stairwell led to a basement receiving
478. 14:48area, but students were never escorted
479. 14:51out that way.
480. 14:52The front doors were still unlocked.
481. 14:54They hadn't even finished their closing
482. 14:56sweep.
483. 14:57An officer eventually found the exterior
484. 14:59loading door propped open with a folded
485. 15:01piece of cardboard.
486. 15:03Beyond it was a recessed service area
487. 15:05screened from the street by a concrete
488. 15:06wall.
489. 15:08They didn't find the man.
490. 15:10I gave a description, including the polo
491. 15:12and badge, but nothing ever came of it.
492. 15:15Looking back, what kind of bothers me
493. 15:17now is remembering how long he'd stood
494. 15:19beside my desk while I packed.
495. 15:21He hadn't asked whether I was alone or
496. 15:23checked any of the other desks on our
497. 15:25way out.
498. 15:26I still don't know whether he found me
499. 15:27by chance or had watched me fall asleep.
500. 15:30For the rest of that [music] year,
501. 15:32whenever I started getting tired in the
502. 15:33library, I packed up and left.
503. 15:36I couldn't stand the thought of opening
504. 15:37my eyes and finding [music] him waiting
505. 15:39beside me again.
506. 15:53During my sophomore year of college, I
507. 15:55got a part-time [music] job with the
508. 15:56campus custodial department.
509. 15:58My parents were helping with tuition,
510. 16:00but I paid for groceries, gas, and
511. 16:02anything else I needed, and the dining
512. 16:04hall job I'd applied for never got back
513. 16:06to me.
514. 16:07Custodial paid a little better anyway.
515. 16:10I worked three evenings a week, usually
516. 16:11from 6:00 until 11:00, cleaning
517. 16:13classrooms and taking out garbage after
518. 16:15most people had gone home.
519. 16:17My supervisor was a guy named Dennis.
520. 16:20Most nights he gave me a list and worked
521. 16:22in another building nearby.
522. 16:24I could call him if I needed anything,
523. 16:26but otherwise I was on my own.
524. 16:28This happened in November, about 6 weeks
525. 16:31after I started.
526. 16:32I was assigned to an older activity hall
527. 16:34on the edge of campus.
528. 16:36It had classrooms, but they were used by
529. 16:38student clubs, not actual classes.
530. 16:41There was also a small auditorium and a
531. 16:42couple of meeting rooms.
532. 16:44Some nights there were people there
533. 16:46until closing, but that night the last
534. 16:48group left a little after 8:00.
535. 16:50I remember holding the door open while
536. 16:52they carried some equipment outside.
537. 16:54After that, I did a walk through the
538. 16:56main floor and started emptying trash
539. 16:58cans.
540. 16:59The building was quiet enough that I
541. 17:00could hear the wheels of my cleaning
542. 17:02cart squeaking from the opposite end of
543. 17:03the hallway.
544. 17:05I was replacing a garbage bag near the
545. 17:07auditorium when I heard a noise from one
546. 17:09of the classrooms behind me.
547. 17:11It was a heavy slap against the door,
548. 17:13followed by something scraping.
549. 17:15I stood up and listened.
550. 17:17I assumed somebody had stayed behind,
551. 17:19although I hadn't seen anyone during my
552. 17:21walk-through.
553. 17:23The classroom door was partly open.
554. 17:25I knocked on it, waited, then pushed it
555. 17:27further inward.
556. 17:29The lights were off, so I reached around
557. 17:31the door frame and switched them on.
558. 17:33A textbook was lying [music] face down
559. 17:35beside one of the desks.
560. 17:37That was the first thing I noticed
561. 17:38because everything else looked neat.
562. 17:41I called out to ask if anyone was still
563. 17:42in there,
564. 17:43but nobody answered.
565. 17:45There wasn't much to search. I checked
566. 17:47behind the open door and looked between
567. 17:49the rows of desks.
568. 17:50The windows were shut and there was no
569. 17:52other exit.
570. 17:54I picked up the textbook and put it on
571. 17:55the instructor's desk.
572. 17:57It could have fallen, but it was lying a
573. 17:59few feet from the nearest table.
574. 18:02I tried to remember whether the noise
575. 18:03sounded like a book hitting the [music]
576. 18:04floor.
577. 18:05The more I thought about it, the less
578. 18:07sure I was.
579. 18:09I finished the room and moved on.
580. 18:11One of the extra things Dennis asked me
581. 18:13to do that [music] night was bring out
582. 18:14the holiday decorations.
583. 18:16They were kept in a storage area off a
584. 18:18back hallway near the auditorium side
585. 18:20entrance.
586. 18:21He'd shown it to me once before, but I
587. 18:23hadn't actually gone inside.
588. 18:25We called it a crawl space because you
589. 18:27couldn't stand up in most of it. It
590. 18:29occupied this low area beneath the
591. 18:31rising auditorium seats [music] with
592. 18:33exposed supports and a concrete floor.
593. 18:36Near the entrance, the ceiling was high
594. 18:37enough to crouch under. Farther back,
595. 18:40you would have needed to crawl.
596. 18:42There was a single light just inside the
597. 18:44door.
598. 18:45Dennis said the decorations were in
599. 18:46plastic bins along the left side, marked
600. 18:49with green tape.
601. 18:50I left my cart outside, pushed open the
602. 18:52door, and switched on the light.
603. 18:55It illuminated the entrance and a few
604. 18:57stacks of folding chairs. Beyond those,
605. 18:59the space stretched into darkness.
606. 19:02I could see cardboard boxes, rolled
607. 19:04carpeting, and the legs of old
608. 19:05furniture.
609. 19:07I crouched and went inside.
610. 19:09The first marked bin was easy to find.
611. 19:11I dragged it toward the doorway, then
612. 19:13went for another one sitting behind it.
613. 19:15That was when I heard something move at
614. 19:17the far end of the space.
615. 19:19It was a brief shuffling sound followed
616. 19:21by a scrape against the concrete.
617. 19:26I stopped with both hands on the bin.
618. 19:29For a few seconds, I heard nothing.
619. 19:31I couldn't have explained why, but I
620. 19:33immediately pictured an animal squeezed
621. 19:34behind the furniture watching me.
622. 19:37I let go of the bin and backed toward
623. 19:39the door.
624. 19:40My shoulder brushed against something,
625. 19:42and the noise, whatever it made, scared
626. 19:43me enough that I hurried the rest of the
627. 19:45way out.
628. 19:46Standing in the hallway, I kept looking
629. 19:48through the doorway.
630. 19:49I didn't want to turn my back on it. An
631. 19:52animal was bad enough, especially in a
632. 19:53space where I couldn't stand or move
633. 19:55quickly.
634. 19:56But then I thought about the classroom
635. 19:58and the textbook and the possibility
636. 20:00that there was a person back there.
637. 20:01That felt much worse.
638. 20:04I took my flashlight off the cart.
639. 20:06It was a decent one Dennis had given me
640. 20:07for checking under seats in the
641. 20:09auditorium.
642. 20:10I stood outside the doorway and shined
643. 20:12it into the storage area.
644. 20:14The beam caught the metal chair legs and
645. 20:16the white lids of several bins.
646. 20:18I moved it slowly across the back, but
647. 20:20everything blocked my view of something
648. 20:22else.
649. 20:23There could have been somebody crouched
650. 20:24behind almost any of those piles.
651. 20:27I called out asking if someone was in
652. 20:28there.
653. 20:29My voice sounded loud in the hallway.
654. 20:32There was no response.
655. 20:34I leaned forward just a bit, keeping
656. 20:35both feet outside, [music] and I aimed
657. 20:37the flashlight into a gap beneath a
658. 20:39table.
659. 20:40I heard a soft movement from further to
660. 20:42the right.
661. 20:45Before I could move the beam toward it,
662. 20:46somebody said my name.
663. 20:49Evan.
664. 20:50It was quiet, almost whispered, but I
665. 20:53heard it clearly.
666. 20:54It came from well beyond the reach of
667. 20:56the light.
668. 20:57I slammed the door as hard as I could.
669. 21:00It was a regular interior door with no
670. 21:01latch or lock, so there was nothing
671. 21:03keeping it closed.
672. 21:05I stood there for a second with my hand
673. 21:06pressed against it, terrified I would
674. 21:08feel someone push from the other side.
675. 21:11Then I let go and ran.
676. 21:13Dennis was working in the neighboring
677. 21:14building, which meant going outside and
678. 21:16crossing a service courtyard.
679. 21:18I called him on the way, but he didn't
680. 21:20pick up.
681. 21:21I found him stripping a floor near the
682. 21:23entrance.
683. 21:24He shut the machine off when he saw me.
684. 21:26I asked whether anybody else was working
685. 21:28in the activity hall, and he said no.
686. 21:30I asked if he'd sent someone over there
687. 21:32or told somebody to mess with me.
688. 21:35He looked confused and asked what
689. 21:36happened. That's when I told him.
690. 21:39He stayed quiet for a moment, then he
691. 21:41asked if I was certain I heard my name.
692. 21:43I said yes, I was.
693. 21:45He came back with me.
694. 21:47I hated walking down that hallway again.
695. 21:50My cart was where I left it, with the
696. 21:51first decoration bin sitting beside it.
697. 21:54Dennis pushed open the storage door
698. 21:55while I stood several feet back.
699. 21:58He called inside,
700. 21:59>> [music]
701. 21:59>> identifying himself and telling whoever
702. 22:00was there to come out.
703. 22:02Nothing moved.
704. 22:04We searched with both flashlights.
705. 22:06Dennis went in first [music] and shifted
706. 22:07boxes while I illuminated the gaps
707. 22:09behind them.
708. 22:11We checked behind the tables, then under
709. 22:13the rolled carpeting, and then along the
710. 22:15low back wall, but there was nobody in
711. 22:17there.
712. 22:18We didn't find an animal either.
713. 22:20Dennis suggested I might have heard
714. 22:22people outside through a vent, but he
715. 22:24didn't sound convinced.
716. 22:26I told him I wasn't staying in that
717. 22:27building for the rest of the shift.
718. 22:29He let me finish [music] in his building
719. 22:30without arguing.
720. 22:32I worked another week before quitting.
721. 22:34Dennis offered to keep me out of that
722. 22:35hall, but by then I was uncomfortable
723. 22:37whenever I had to clean an empty room
724. 22:39alone.
725. 22:40I still don't know what was in that
726. 22:41storage space.
727. 22:43My work shirt had my name stitched above
728. 22:45the pocket, so anyone who had seen me
729. 22:47earlier could have known it.
730. 22:49But I'd been crouched in there with my
731. 22:51back turned dragging those bins around
732. 22:52for several minutes before I heard
733. 22:54anything move.
734. 22:56Was this some kind of prank?
735. 22:58Or was this a genuine supernatural
736. 23:00occurrence? I still don't know.